Q&A: Donald Faison on The Exes and His Star Wars Obsession

Donald Faison wants you to know that it's okay to feel feelings, which is probably why he's spent more than a decade showing us what bromances should look like, first as Zach Braff's best friend and "Chocolate Bear" on Scrubs, and now in his third season as Phil Chase, a divorced womanizing sports agent with two roommates on TV Land's The Exes, which airs Wednesday nights. We recently talked to Faison about the evolution of said bromances, as well as his love of Star Wars, crime fighting, and what it felt like to switch from scrubs to suits.

ESQUIRE.COM: Just to get some trivia out of the way: My first date I ever went on was in sixth grade, and it was with a girl whose name I cannot remember, and we went to see Clueless.

DONALD FAISON: Did you guys have fun?

ESQ: We did, actually. Well I did. I never spoke with her again. But I enjoyed the movie, so you did your part.

DF: You never spoke to her again and you don't remember her name? Wow.

ESQ: Well I was twelve and all I cared about was basketball and Star Wars. But I've almost grown out of that phase. Speaking of which, you animate your own little Lego Star Wars movies in your basement. I don't mean little like—

DF: No, no. It's all right. It is little. We're playing with miniatures and with Legos, which aren't even close to life-size. But yeah, whenever I'm not working I try to animate. The last project I did was Black Stormtrooper 3 and actually I plan to start the next one right after I finish this film I'm working on now.

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ESQ: You do those down in your basement?

DF: Yeah, my wife allowed me to build an animation studio in our house, and I'm always in there. The great thing is that my wife will come down and do the voices for me, and I'll animate it. But then if we're upstairs and she wants to watch something like Forensic Files, or 48 Hours, or Lifetime, I can always go down there to escape and animate. So it's really the best of both worlds.

ESQ: Have you made any calls to Disney about being in the upcoming Star Wars movies?

DF: You know, I don't know if it would be all right for me to call. I worked for J.J. Abrams on Felicity, but I don't want to call him and cramp his style and be like, "Hey, put me in your movie." Although I really, really, really want to be in it and I hope he knows how much of a Star Wars fan I am.

ESQ: Well hopefully he reads this, but you should definitely call him.

DF: Thank you. I actually will. I'm not sure I'll call him directly, but I'll try to sit down with him. I actually tried to do the same before Star Trek, but he told my manager "There's nothing in Star Trek for Donald. We'll work together again, but not on this."

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ESQ: Was it that callous?

DF: No, I'm sure he was way nicer than that. And if there was a part for me I'm sure he would have given me the opportunity. When you watch the Star Trek movies you realize that there really isn't a spot for me. J.J. is a great guy and when I really needed a job, he gave me a role on Felicity for three seasons, so the last thing I would want is for you to think that he'd blow me off. He definitely wouldn't.

ESQ: Have you played the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic video games?

DF: Of course. I have the app that they released for the iPad. But you're talking about the ones for Xbox, right?

ESQ: Yeah. When you talk to Abrams, can you tell him those would be perfect for the new Star Wars film series?

DF: I'm going to be honest with you. I think whatever he decides to do with Star Wars is the right choice. But Knights of the Old Republic would be an amazing story to tell. I'd love to see young Yoda. I'd love to see what it was like when the Siths versus the Jedis was like Braveheart, and they just ran at each other in battle. Absolutely.

ESQ: Me, too. But I think we reached a saturation point in regards to origin stories with Man of Steel.

DF: I don't know. I think origin stories are a great way to get people reinvested in a story. I mean, we originally accepted Star Trek without knowing anything about Kirk or Spock. All we needed to know was that it took place in the future. We accepted Star Wars without any kind of backstory, other than "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." Automatically we were like, "Okay!" Same with Superman, Batman, Spider-Man. But now it's entertaining to learn about new things, and it's cool to see a director and a writer take all those famous stories we love and find a way to validate them.

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ESQ: And you actually get your own origin story in the Kick-Ass sequel, right?

DF: Yeah, I do. Opening August 16, 2013.

ESQ: Nice plug. Which character are you playing?

DF: I'm Dr. Gravity, who, like a lot of people, has been inspired by Kick-Ass to go into the streets and fight crime. You know how people troll online for comments from their favorite celebrities?

ESQ: I mean, you probably know better than I do.

DF: True. Well Dr. Gravity puts an ad up trying to get Kick-Ass to respond, and then they join forces. And I get a couple fight scenes, so that's all pretty cool.

ESQ: What kind of doctor is he?

DF: That's just the name the character adopted, and I actually love the fact he just names himself Dr. Gravity because he thought it sounded dope. If he was an actual doctor it would be a little too close to Scrubs for me, I think.

ESQ: What's it been like playing a bunch of new characters and transitioning to a new show after nine years of almost exclusively playing Dr. Chris Turk on Scrubs?

DF: It's different, you know. The Exes is a different format with a completely different character. You get to know people for nine years, and all of a sudden you guys aren't working together anymore. It's weird to make new friends, but we're three seasons in with The Exes, and now it feels a lot like Scrubs, where I'm very lucky because I get to work people like Wayne Knight who I really like.

ESQ: Are you happy to shed the scrubs for suits and ties?

DF: It's definitely less comfortable. Scrubs are basically pajamas; just a t-shirt and sweatpants pretty much. But I like the way I look in a suit, and I wish I owned more. Actually, I wish I owned suits that fit me, I should say. You can buy off the rack and think, "Oh, this is perfect." But then you get a tailor-made suit for you and it's a whole different animal. You don't just look good in a suit, you feel good in a suit.

ESQ: So, wait, why does a seemingly successful sports agent who can afford bespoke suits still need two roommates?

DF: Because his wife got all the money in the divorce, and because his neighbor Holly, played by Kristen Johnston, is maybe a really bad divorce lawyer? But at the end of the day, it's TV. Felix didn't have to live with Oscar. Both were pretty successful. But they did anyway, and when you live with your guys, you feel a little more comfortable than when you live by yourself.

ESQ: Is this kind of the more grown-up, tamer version of the relationship you and Zach Braff had on Scrubs?

DF: It's kind of an extension of that, yeah. These guys don't necessarily have the bromance that J.D. and Turk shared, where they sleep in the same bed and all that, but they look out for each other and they're definitely respectful of each other's feelings. If Scrubs is the R-rated version — because J.D. and Turk have done everything but slept together — then the guys on The Exes are the PG version. Maybe PG-13.

ESQ: So between the two TV shows, a few movies, Zach Braff's new Kickstarter project, the extra-curricular animation, and everything else, are you just trying to keep yourself busy every single waking hour?

DF: Yeah. I want to do as much as I can and the honest-to-goodness truth is that I like working. I like working a lot. I'm very lucky to be able to work as much as I do and I want to keep that up. So if it's something I'm into, I'm definitely going to be a part of it.

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